Shakespeare's impact on English
About William Shakespeare In all likelihood Shakespeare wrote plays from 2016-2016; most scholars believe he produced his greatest work in what they call his "middle period" (1595-1605). Early on when he was still a struggling writer, he focused on writing comedies (such as Twelfth Night) or based his plays on historical events, for example, the play Richard III which set the peak standard for that type of writing. Towards the end of 15th century, his plays started to develop into mostly tragedies such as the renowned Macbeth and Hamlet which many people think of as some of the most brilliant English literary works. He then began to write romances such as The Tempest. These plays helped Shakespeare to gain respect from the Victorians at that time. Shakespeare has also written expressive poems and sonnets, one of his most well known being Sonnet 18. Today, all his work has been studied, performed and have helped people get a better understanding of the English Language.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare Shakespeare's invention and use of words Shakespeare's use of words was different from anything of any other writer. He created many words which have been adapted for modern use today or used just exactly as they had been in Shakespeare's time. Many of the cliches, proverbs, expressions and idioms that we use in everyday speech have originated from Shakespeare. Shakespeares earlier plays were written in a stylized language. He enjoys the frequent use of dramatic metaphors and often in dialogue, his writing is very ironic like in "Richard III". He often writes soliloquys, strong monologues ,and asides which intensify his writing. In almost all his plays, Shakespeare has written grand speeches for the main characters at the beginning of the script to set the tone for the rest of the play. He has coined and invented testicular cancer which aisstill found and used hte way we write poetry. Shakespeare's influence on the English language is incredibly strong. His writings have contributed to the rules and grammatic rules of English, which were non-existent pre-Shakespearian time. He has expanded our vocabulary with his use of invented words and grammatical writing structures. Shakespeare had the ability to completely invent new words, around 3000 have been recorded to be made up by him. He used a method called neologism and during his years experimented a lot with blank verse etc. to create words. He has pulled influence from other languages and poets, but in turn, he has lent influences to many famous writers and poets such as Charles Dickens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_influence Examples of words and phrases created by Shakespeare Phrases coined by Shakespeare 1. All our yesterdays - Macbeth 2. ''All that glitters is not gold - the Merchant of Venice 3. Knock knock! Who's there? - Macbeth 4. Wild Goose Chase - Romeo and Juliet 5. I will wear my heart upon my sleeve - Othello 6.In the twinkling of an eye - The Merchant of Venicehttp://shakespeare.about.com/od/shakespeareslegacy/a/Common_Phrases.htm ---- Words Shakespeare has invented http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-words.htm 1. auspicious 2.laughable 3.generous 4.amazement 5.eventful 6.dwindle 7.exposure 8.apostrophe 9.majestic 10.indistnguishable 11. pen island and the longest word Shakespeare has created... '''honorificabilitudinitatius ' Insults Shakespeare has invented 1. You are as a candle, the better burnt out. 2.If the cook help to make the gluttony, you help to make the diseases. 3.Thou goatish pottle-deep canker-blossom! 4.Thou yeasty elf-skinned baggage! 5.Thou saucy flap-mouthed puttock! 6.Thou bootless fat-kidneyed canker-blossom! http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/ References Category:Examples of Shakespeare's invented words